This show was 50 years ago tonight. It was the first concert I ever attended. The following year I got on the concert board (I was a member for the '73 show and that is when I met Jerry) and the rest was history for me. I made a career of being a traveling stage manager. Good times. It all started with this show
Back to this show, my buddy, who with his wife were the chair and cochair of the Board, sent me a copy of the poster for this so we have had a good shared history tonight. The last poster is essentially correct as to the lights and chairs. What wasn't mentioned is the shower of Panama Red that hit the stage. The band was pretty blasé at first but after someone picked up a couple then during the next break several came out with a hats and they started scooping up all of the shared sacrament. For the rest of the night there was a huge cloud backstage and really out in the house too. Good times.

Thanks for the memories. I have to rate this one tops

Additions/clarifications to what several have said above:
Prior to the Dead's March 20 performance, there was a lot of back and forth btw the U of Iowa administration and the UPC, University Programming Committee. The issues involved whether or not there would be portable chairs on the basketball floor, and whether or not the house lights would stay on during the concert. When the New Riders took the stage as the warm-up act, the wooden chairs were still in place, and the house lights continued glaring. (This was all an attempt to tamp down drug activity.) The NRPS played their first 2-3 songs while large numbers in the audience shouted for the house lights to be turned off. Eventually, Marmaduke addressed the "house lights man" through his microphone, and the crowd started chanting. As a result, the house lights were turned off. After that, the audience spontaneously moved the folded wooden chairs either to the sides or to piles in the middle of the floor. Finally, marijuana cigarettes began making their smoking way from hand to hand through the audience. All of this occurred before the Dead came onstage--I don't recall Jerry Garcia being involved at all (though I was standing in a spot where I could watch him and the others lighting up behind one of the massive amplifiers, which looked like a smokestack). According to the Daily Iowan, the student newspaper's review the following week, however, some messed-up audience member attempted to stab Bob Weir with a housekey.

When streaming the Good Lovin' locked up my computer two times. Weird.

Almost a 5. I almost shed tears to rate it a 4, but the mix is terrible and the vocals are worse. Someone should remix this! Although the short songs (most of them new at the time) are played extremely well, the jams are weak. This is definitely at "turn the volume up on the instrumental parts and down on the vocals" show.

Solid playing throughout

Hey, Jonathan,

Could you please trim the setlist and take the doubles out of this? It would make it flow so much better! Great show, good recording!

Thanks

Love Jerry's really loud guitar, he's really reaching for it. Don't really like the track listing.

The crowd was a mix of rather uptight Iowa City locals and turned on youth from the surrounding midwest. New Riders opened with a ringing pedal steel. The rowdy time happened in the Dead set, with the shedding of chairs making police etc. nervous. There was also a half-nude stage streaker who was unceremoniously dumped to the side stage. They used a full soundboard (I sat next to it) so maybe the vaults have the definitive show. This is incomplete. I remember an incendiary China Cat. I vaguely recall something about an attempted bust, which had happened a year earlier when the Airplane toured Volunteers at this massive field house. Vintage.

Late into the 2nd set, 12,000 tripped out New Rider/Dead fans passed thousands of wooden fold-up chairs over our heads to the side and back of the Iowa City Fieldhouse to get them off our dance floor. The Dead awarded our efforts with the best "Around and Around" I'd ever heard then, and since. Dead shows opening with the New Riders in 1970-71 were epic. Proof that drugged out anarchy was not chaotic at all.!

Iowa City Fieldhouse had wood chairs set up on the floor. Audience was moving around and chairs were causing problems. Jerry had the band stop playing and announced that everyone should fold up the chairs and stack them against the walls. They started playing for what seemed to be 3-4 hours, although the recordings here don't add up to that total. :-)

Dig the show. Vocals seem odd at times but not bothersome. Great setlist. Solid show for sure.

Jerry sounds like he is really enjoying the evening.
Truckin', Hard To Handle, Loser, Casey Jones and Bertha are hot as per "highlights".
Good Lovin' will have you grooving, although I've heard better raps. Uncle John's Band is jammed out, if not sung harmoniously. Jerry sounds great in Love Light, but can't deal with Weir's interjecting at all.
The board sounds great *****. I had never heard it. Thank You kindly to all

as said already, real tight show though the vocals are off here and there the playing makes up for it. great to hear such a strong pig presence. a gem for sure.

or Best Good Lovin'?
This show is fan-tabulous. Its really nice to hear these '71 gems. This one is hot and smokey and spicy and you might find yourself doin a lil shakin' and a lil' groovin' in your chair while listening to this show. The Good Lovin' is epic. As another poster says, this show is chocked full of Pig. Just crank it up and enjoy - this one gets 5 stars.




~ Let the good times roll

The vocals seem to distort at high levels, but maybe it's just my computer speakers...or my ears. Either way I'm downloading this because I love this period, and the sound(vocals aside) and playing are really good. Nice early Deal. Plenty-o-Pig! Just hope it sounds better on the big stereo. 4's fair.

I like it too except they are singing WAY off key
in the harmony vox of truckin'. So what?
Jerry's sweet playin' more than makes up for it.

Just a good, tight show. Especially enjoyed Next time you see me, Bobby McGee.